Customer services update

We have reluctantly decided to close the Town Hall Customer Services Centre until further notice, for face to face enquiries and appointments. This will to allow us to concentrate on key services and minimise risks to customers and staff.

Until further notice, the registration of deaths can be done over the phone on 01325 406400. If you need homelessness advice or are homeless tonight please call 01325 405333 (8.30am-4.45pm) or 01642 624662 (after 5pm).

To make sure we can continue to offer you access to the most crucial services at this challenging time, we are now only taking calls to our customer service phone lines for the essential services listed below, this is so our customer service team can help where the need is greatest:

• Council housing repairs - For urgent repairs call 405333, for all other housing related queries please email [email protected]
• Homelessness – Please call 405333
• Environmental health - For environmental health issues please email [email protected] and if unable to contact by e-mail for urgent cases such as suspected food poisoning, pollution incidents, pest control or discarded needles on public land call 405111
• Highways repairs – For urgent highways issues such as bridge repairs, traffic light failure or road traffic collisions please call 405222
• Adult social care switchboard - Please call 406111
• Council Tax - 405555 (8:30am - 3:45pm) or complete a council tax enquiry form anytime.
• Benefits - 405444 (8:30am - 3:45pm) or complete a benefits enquiry formanytime.
• Business Rates – please ring 405666 (8:30am - 3:45pm) or complete an online enquiry form

Other departments continuing to take telephone calls at the moment are:

Childrens Services - call 406222 or email [email protected]

You can email only:

• Complaints – [email protected]
• Youth offending - [email protected]
• Licensing - [email protected]
• Planning -  [email protected]
• StreetScene -  [email protected]
• Transport and Projects (including parking) -  [email protected]
• Register Office – please email [email protected]

All other services continue to be accessible online by submitting a form or by email. 

Coronavirus: Changes to council services

As part of our response to the Coronavirus outbreak, we've had to scale back or suspend certain council services so others can keep going. 

• All council car parks are free with immediate effect until further notice.
• The tip is now open from 8am-4.30pm seven days a week. Strict social distancing measures will be in place. Please only visit the tip if you really need to. Check the traffic before you set off on the tip page.
• The start of this year’s garden waste service has been delayed; garden waste collections will commence on a two-weekly cycle from Tuesday 12 May
• Our refuse and recycling collections will continue as normal.
• Bulky waste collections have stopped with immediate effect.
• We will be carrying out emergency highways and streetlight repairs only.
• Dog waste/public waste bins are being emptied on a limited basis. Please continue to take your litter/bagged dog waste home and put it in your own bin.
• Arboriculturalist (looking after trees) service stopped.
• Gully clearing stopped unless essential.
• Some road and street cleaning will be carried out at reduced levels.
• The land charges service has resumed as of Monday 18 May but with reduced resources.
• School crossing patrols are suspended with immediate effect.
• Limited grass cutting has resumed in priority areas, which will include sight lines at road junctions.
• Parks will remain open to allow people the opportunity for their daily exercise but play areas will be closed. People must exercise alone or with people from their household and stay at least two metres away from other people.
• Day opportunities for those with learning disabilities stopped with immediate effect.
• Learning and Skills buildings are closed but online resources are being produced.
• Essential housing maintenance only will be done.
• Schools are issuing supermarket food vouchers in place of school meals.  Please contact individual schools for more detail. 
• Planning applications are still being accepted but the committees are cancelled for now.